Butternut Squash & Bean Curry

YUM. I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now -it never fails to please the dinner guests, especially those who are vegan /dairy free / Gluten-free.

Plus it’s GORGEOUS with all of the pretty colors involved AND it freezes really well — I love enjoying the leftovers later!

RECIPE: https://www.lecreuset.co.za/recipes/butternut-squash-butter-bean-spinach-curry/

Notes:

I usually substitute a couple fresh jalapeños sliced finely for the “1 mild red chilli, seeds removed and chopped.”

I buy the squash precut from Sprouts (lazy, I know).

I add tomatoes because I like the POP of the color red in there.

Finally - I like serving this over rice; it feels more like a meal than simply soup, and it’s more filling (and lasts longer for leftovers, too!).

*Since we are currently dealing with shortages of many foods in stores, I was not able to buy Vegan broth this time so I used chicken broth - so if you’re serving vegans/vegetarians, you’ll obvi want to sub the broth for an animal-free option.

What’s leftover -What goes into the trash, what goes into recycle, and into compost? Well … I’ll tell you: 🗑 = the broth package since tetrapak isn’t recyclable. The Cans and plastic container go into ♻️ . Peels from onion and garlic go into compost bin 🌱!

What’s for dinner ?

Today, someone on Facebook posted, “hey let’s share what we’re making at home tonight - what’s everyone cooking?!” as a way to unite over food. And help those who don’t normally cook, prepare their meal … Which I loved.

I’m even more focused on food choices and meal prep right now than usual, because I feel like what I eat (and how I eat) are two things I can still control in a world with so much out of control. And food prep has a way of slowing me down... As does sitting down with a cloth napkin, beautifully prepared and staged (healthy) food, chewing each bite slowly.
While looking outside at the snowfall.

so- here’s what’s for dinner:

…turmeric kombucha because #guthealth

….bean pasta because #glutenfree (and check out that protein!)

…fresh lettuce with balsamic dressing, tomatoes and almonds because #realfood and it’s fresh and who knows if we can keep buying fresh foods for much longer …

…and sweet potatoes because #colors and yum and carbs.

Dehydrated mushrooms & Heritage Wheatberries

One of my MOST favorite things about being both a summer AND winter shareholder with GoFarm is the crazy assortment of items I get in my weekly share.

Many times, there is a new-to-me item that I have to go home and research, to figure out how to prepare it and what its benefits are, etc. Honestly, becoming a GoFarm shareholder a few years ago (and then joining its board, and becoming a sponsor as well!), is what has really prompted my interest in cooking and meal prep…and has blossomed into my love of cooking foods and really enjoying the process as well as the mindFUL consumption of these items… with gratitude to the local farmers growing these items in super small batches, within a few miles of my home, often picking the fruits and veggies just a few days before I get them and eat them. I can honestly say I can taste the difference AND feel how it makes my body feel better…. these items are organic, grown with sustainable soil practices, grown by local farmers who lovingly tend their small plots with care, and then sell them to GoFarm at a very good price to earn their fair wages.

The entire growing and distributing process is intentional and, therefore, I take the matter of preparing and ingesting these foods far more seriously. It’s been the opposite of mindless consumption - it’s been an exciting, interesting, intentional journey. I love ALL of it. 🙏🍃.

So — this week’s share presented me with 2 new challenges: dehydrated mushrooms and this strange grain-looking stuff called Heritage Wheat Berries (“turkey red”). Both were grown/harvested locally. So… what do I do with them, I pondered?

First - I researched how to cook the wheatberries (which by the way- these heritage grains are a HUGE hit among the gluten-light crowd, however yes, this is a gluten food but in heritage ie non-GMO form. Read more about gluten pros and cons, and the WHY, here).

I soaked them in hot water in the rice cooker for an hour or so, drained the water, added new water in proportion to the cups of grains and then used the rice cooker on “brown rice” setting to cook them fully. Yum. They are soft kernels with a lightly-nutty flavor. I toyed with making it into a risotto, but wanted to avoid all of the butter today.

Soaking in hot water in the rice cooker.

Cooked by the rice cooker- fair warning this took awhile.

Second - I took the dried mushrooms, put them in a bowl with boiling water, and let them rehydrate. You may be surprised to learn that this process of dehydrating-rehydrating does NOT remove the nutrients of the ‘shrooms -or their flavor! They came back to life and I set them aside for later.

Rehydrated!

Then - I went in search of a recipe that would allow me to use them together, plus this gorgeous carrot and beets I got in my share this week (as well as some yams and an onion I have here that I want to cook):

Look at that carrot and those beets !

VIOLA! I found this recipe which I thought would be PERFECT for tonight’s dinner for myself and my dinner guest.

The main course paired really well with the gorgeous greens salad- ALSO from this week’s GoFarm share! (That’s right, farmers are growing greens indoors, using greenhouses and other methods -what a TREAT to have fresh, locally-grown and organic greens in the middle of winter!).

In a nutshell, I am REALLY happy with how this dish turned out. It is SO good. Highly recommend.

And for dessert … my first experience with star fruit- paired with pear and blueberries ! Yum 😋!